A Nice Frosty Glass of DOOM, With A Sprig of Mint

It is no consolation that a few heartland states are in decent shape. The Dakotas, Nebraska, and Indiana cannot compensate for the disaster that is Illinois, let alone the bicoastal basket cases. Moreover, while a robust economic recovery would create breathing room for some states, the most afflicted states' problem is structural, not cyclical. Under any plausible economic scenario, revenues will barely cover their ongoing obligations, let alone repay their debts.

(Emphasis mine.)

When people talk about "quality of life", they are in part referring to their local environment. Roads, parks, police, civic centers, playgrounds, little league baseball, firefighters, schools -- all things funded by municipalities, and all things in dire danger of being cut unless the states and cities find some way to get their spending and debt under control.

And remember: debt is a symptom; spending is the disease. The problem is too much damned public spending, not too little public income.

[UPDATE: Link was broken. It should be fixed now.]

[UPDATE 2: No cute kitty-cat pictures unless some other cob-logger (ahem: lauraw) wants to add one. Just looking at those treacly pictures of cats makes me want to vomit.]